BOSTON -- An alleged victim of convicted pedophile John Geoghan and his attorney said that they were outraged by a letter released by Brooklyn Bishop John Daily, in which Daily said he regrets the way he handled allegations against the defrocked priest.

"In that situation, I acted in good conscience, with the knowledge gained from consultations, but in hindsight I profoundly regret certain decisions," Bishop Thomas Daily said in a seven-page statement released by the Diocese of Brooklyn.

NewsCenter 5's Mary Saladna reported that Patrick McSorley and his attorney, Mitchell Garabedian, said that despite Daily's expression of regret, his refusal to turn over the names of accused priests in Brooklyn shows that he is not willing to address the problem.

"I mean this statement is a bland statement," Garabedian said. "It basically says, 'Leave us alone. We're going to keep this quiet, and we're going to deal with it in our own way.' They've learned nothing, according to this statement, and that's shocking."

Video

Watch Mary Saladna's Report

In his statement, Daily said that the national focus on the mishandled cases of clerical pedophilia "attest to the terrible actions that have been committed by a small member of clergy against the most vulnerable of our family faith -- our children."

He goes on to say that he will not release the names or number of Brooklyn priests with abuse allegations, but he added, "While the number is very low, there is no excuse or justification for such activity on the part of even one."

McSorley, who claims that he was abused by Geoghan, said that those words ring hollow without action to back them up.

"I think that the secrecy has to end or there's going to be more problems," McSorley said. "I won't be healed until I see something taking place where they're making these changes."

Daily said that while most alleged victims prefer to keep their charges private, the diocese leaves the decision to report the allegations to civil authorities with the victim's family.

The bishop said the diocese would review any proposals to change state law to make priests mandatory reporters of suspected sexual abuse, but said the priest-penitent relationship "can never be violated. That being assured, we will, as always, obey the law."

Meanwhile, Cardinal Edward Egan planned to release a letter to parishioners over the weekend in which he would delineate the Archdiocese of New York's newly adopted policy on reporting alleged sexual abuse by clerics to authorities.

Egan said Tuesday he would address the archdiocese's 2.4 million members with a letter explaining its recently adopted policy of notifying authorities of suspected abuse if church leaders find probable cause and if the alleged victim consents.

He said he would also address reports that he failed to notify authorities of abuse allegations when he was bishop of Bridgeport, Conn., and that he allowed several priests facing such claims to continue working for many years.